The Irony of Life
by E2Moto
Summary: [Post-canon] While taking care of his 10 year old daughter after work in Japan, Naofumi feels a strange nostalgia from a distant past.


**Author's note:** Here's my second one shot fic. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Aneko Yusagi's The Rising of the Shield Hero, or anything that is contained in the series.

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On a sunny day in Japan, Naofumi had a half day at work. He crammed his work for the past week so he can leave early on a Friday before spending the rest of the weekend off, and also sent a phone text message to his wife Raphtalia that he will pick up their 10 year old daughter, Rifana Iwatani from school before heading home together. Raphtalia was always quick to respond and acknowledge her husband's text messages, and Naofumi also informed her about what dinner they will be cooking tonight, so as soon as she learned this, Raphtalia left home to buy ingredients from a convenience store while him and Rifana head home.

Naofumi currently works as the head of the marketing and sales department in a large company which was started by his net friend whom he met in one of his past online games before he became the Shield Hero, and was eventually scouted for a good job position after he came back with Raphtalia and finished his college. Naofumi had a good start to his new career thanks to his prior experience in both online games and his time in Melromarc, and further proved to be an invaluable employee when he kept his company afloat during the period of recession which also kept most, if not all, of its employees on the job. In recognition of this, Naofumi's net friend who is now his CEO, wanted to keep him employed in his company by increasing his salary, and giving him more privileges in his work. Having secured his job position to establish a stable household, he married Raphtalia, and eventually had their first child.

Eventually, they both arrived home, and Raphtalia has not returned from an errand, so Rifana went to her room to change while Naofumi sat on a couch to rest and wait until Raphtalia comes back before they cook dinner. As he was closing into a short nap, he heard tiny footsteps running towards him.

"Papa?" Rifana murmured and sat beside him, holding his arm.

"What is it?" Naofumi gently asked while he kept his eyes closed.

"I'm hungry," Rifana complained. "Could you make food for me?"

Naofumi opened his eyes and looked at her, and then wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him.

"Your mother and I will be cooking a good dinner tonight once she comes back," Naofumi gently smiled. "Could you wait a little?"

"But-" Rifana protested.

_Growl_

She blushed from the loud rumble of her stomach, and frowned. Naofumi sighed, and faintly chuckled knowing that he will not be able to rest anytime soon.

Naofumi could never have a heart to deny his daughter's wants and needs because she was always a well behaved girl that him and Raphtalia would never have to often scold her, and add to the fact that she is an 'A' student in her school and always does her homework first before recreational things. Though, Raphtalia would lightly scold Naofumi that he might be spoiling their child at times, he only felt right to do so for her good behavior and hard work. It was also a great bonus and pride for him that she joined a kendo club when she was 8, and often wondered with amusement, if that was out of pure coincidence or if she did take after her mother.

"Alright, alright..," Naofumi surrendered and stretched his arms. "I'll make you two salmon onigiris to stave off your hunger for now, but you have to save the rest for dinner, OK? We'll be cooking something great tonight."

"Okay," Rifana beamed.

"Alright, let's go," Naofumi stood up, and they walked to the kitchen.

Naofumi grabbed a cutting board, an empty bowl, and a ceramic knife, and Rifana grabbed a bowl of leftover rice, a can of flaked salmon, table salt, and dried seaweed from their refrigerator. Naofumi put the cold rice in a microwave to warm it for a few seconds before he pulled it out, and both of them washed their hands before they start making food.

Naofumi scooped a small amount of salmon chunks into a small bowl which he mixed it with a small amount of mayo, and cut dried seaweed while Rifana poured water into a small bowl before she sprinkled it with a bit of salt. Then she dipped her small hands in it, and started kneading rice into two triangles.

Once Rifana finished kneading two rice triangles, Naofumi took them, and pressed his two fingers on the middle of both kneaded rice a few times, and filled them with salmon flakes before he closed the fillings with small chunks of rice. He finished them by wrapping two strips of dried seaweed on the bottom of both, and placed them on a small plate.

"We're done," Naofumi smiled. "Let's go watch TV until your mother comes back."

"Okay," Rifana agreed, and then they walked back to the living room.

Naofumi handed the plate of onigiris to Rifana before he sat on a couch, but just before he grabbed the remote control to turn the TV on, Rifana suddenly jumped and sat on his left thigh.

"Whoa!" Naofumi exclaimed, and quickly put his arm around her to keep her from possibly falling down. "You could just sit beside me, you know?"

"But it feels cozy," Rifana smiled.

"Huh?" Naofumi's eyes narrowed in perplexity before he laughed, _'Jeez, you could have thought of a better excuse, but whatever.'_

Rifana can be quite clingy, but Naofumi could not often resist her sweet behavior, and as much as he hated to admit it, her charms can easily break through his still lingering cold personality.

"Alright, fine," Naofumi gave in again, and sighed before he watched Rifana had her first bite.

"How is it?" Naofumi asked.

"Mmm," Rifana hummed with a smile, and swallowed. "It tastes really good. Thank you, Papa."

"Don't worry about it," Naofumi smiled before he patted her head. "You worked for it, too."

_'She's such a sweet girl.'_

Naofumi grabbed the remote control, and turned the TV on to watch the news. He spent a few minutes watching before he changed the channel.

'Same old, same old.' Naofumi grimaced, and switched the channel to random TV shows. After he switched channels, he looked at Rifana and saw that she is already halfway through her second onigiri with small bits of rice around her cheeks.

"Wait," Naofumi stopped her, and pulled a small cloth from his back pocket.

"Watch how you eat, OK?" Naofumi gently said, and wiped her cheeks. "Don't let your mother see you like that. Remember what she taught you about eating properly?"

"Ah, I'm so sorry," Rifana timidly apologized.

"It's alright," Naofumi chuckled, and assured her with a head pat.

"I won't tell her as long as you understand."

As he continued watching his daughter eat, Naofumi felt a strange feeling loom in his mind that he is not sure how to explain to himself. Was it a feeling of nostalgia? A deja vu? He looked closely at her, and remembered that she looked very much like Raphtalia when she was small. She had the same slightly messy long brown hair, but slightly darker, and also had her mother's kind, beautiful eyes with the exception that she had his green eye color which he always adores.

Then Naofumi also recalled that he used to similarly care for Raphtalia the same way he cared for their daughter, and Raphtalia also did not know how to properly eat until she asked someone to teach her, but now she is passing these lessons to their child.

Finally, he raised his eyes when he remembered that he used to consider Raphtalia like his 'daughter' and himself as her 'surrogate father' before he eventually recognized her as an adult, and started their few years of courtship before they married and raised a family together.

Now having a daughter together who coincidentally looked like his wife during her tender age and being an actual father to her, Naofumi felt awkwardly astounded, and superstitiously wondered if life or some god had played a prank on him.

_'What the hell was I thinking back then?' _Naofumi thought.

At some point, he realized that he has been in love with Raphtalia ever since she reached out to him and stayed by his side during his darkest times, but insisted in denying his feelings for reasons that he does not want to remember again.

However, none of these matter for him now. Naofumi gently smiled, and watched their beautiful daughter finish her meal before fatigue and food coma took her as she slowly drifted to sleep on his shoulder. And after several minutes, Naofumi heard the front door open, and gently shook Rifana awake to let her know her mother is finally back.

"I'm home!" Raphtalia called, and put her groceries down.

"Momma!" Rifana ran to her mother, and embraced each other with a kiss on the cheek.

Naofumi greeted Raphtalia with a hug and a light kiss before he picked up her groceries, and brought them to their kitchen to start cooking together.

In the long run, Naofumi was happy to have been given a second chance to live a great life with Raphtalia, who used to be his faithful Sword and now his wonderful wife, who also blessed him with a wonderful child.

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**Author's end note:** Joke's on him, right? I came up with this story idea when since the anime started, I started jokingly posting in various Shield Hero social media websites like in Discord that "Naofumi needs a real daughter," every time the community talks about him daughter-zoning Raphtalia.

Anyway, thanks in advance for the read, and please leave a review.


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